The population of the city of St. Cloud has doubled since 2010, from about 35,000 residents to over 71,000 at last count.
Double the people means double the issues, and double the trouble.
It’s enough to keep City Manager Veronica Miller up at night.
While it’s not so much the growth that worries her, it’s the potential for the city to lose a major funding source— ad valorem property taxes on homesteaded properties — “We may have to cut services,” she said at Tuesday’s final Breakfast with the Pros session presented by St. Cloud Main Street. “If we have to find money elsewhere to balance that out, then that means that non-homesteaded properties and commercial properties will potentially be paying more, which would stop us from being able to recruit busineses.”
St. Cloud Main Street Director Paula Stark was not present, as she was in Tallahassee working with the House of Representatives and State Senate to pass a Fiscal Year 2026 budget during the last week of the legislative session.
Miller had the microphone to herself Tuesday morning, and she went over some of the city’s projects, and solutions, which aren’t the same as they were when Miller joined the city in 2003, to effectively manage the growth. The city manager since 2022, Miller said downtown is getting comfortable with downtown looking a little different.
For example, the city is planning for a three-story parking garage in downtown with 475 spaces between City Hall and the Fire Department offices. It would also feature 150 residential units, likely above the garage. Miller said the city hasn’t yet decided if the spaces will be free or paid.
Miller noted a Code Enforcement special magistrate has helped with stepping up the renovation work on the St. Cloud Hotel, the longscaffolded building at 10th Street and New York Avenue.
“He basically gave them a list of items and the timeline that they had to complete by Friday. They did not do that,” Miller said, noting fines of up to $1,000 are now allowed to be imposed. “The fire department was concerned that if they have a fire and they went in, that they would not be safe.”
With 66 new firefighters coming on board, most thanks to a federal SAFER grant, there needs to be room for them. The department’s administration has moved to a facility on Progress Lane, making room for new staff in Station 31. Station 32 is being re-built on Canoe Creek Road near the current Turnpike interchange. Station 35 across from Neptune Middle School is under construction, and Station 36 is planned for the Center Lake neighborhood.
A new police Public Safety complex is in the design stage, and new concrete barriers are coming for downtown events thanks to a $1 million federal grant. After a successful expansion of the city’s Little League complex that Miller said was delivered early and under its $14.8 million budget, Hopkins Park is next up for a $10 million expansion. A number of roads are planned for expansion, including a new segment of Mutter Road that will provide another artery to St. Cloud Hospital.
